SloppyCalculator/SinFoS huggingface dataset:
Sinhala figure of speech: තෙල් පැණි නොනහ කන කැවුම් කෑල්ලත් හොඳලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even a small piece of “ kevum ” (cake) is acceptable which has not cost you anything in oil or jaggery
Meaning: Even small, inexpensive gifts or contributions are valuable and worth accepting.
Context: A long time ago, in a certain era, the Buddha—who shone as a lamp illuminating the three worlds—lived in Devram Vihara. From there begins this Jataka tale. In a distant village near Rajagaha, called Sakara, there lived a wealthy merchant named Machchariya Kosi. He had a son who was extremely miserly. Even if he extracted oil from a tiny stem of grass, he would not share a single drop with anyone. He did not allow anyone else to enjoy any of his possessions. Like a lotus pond untouched by human hands, all his wealth remained unused, even by wandering monks, Brahmins, or his own family. One dawn, the All-Knowing One, the Buddha, rose with great compassion. Observing all his worthy disciples capable of understanding the Four Noble Truths, he set out to teach. He came to see Machchariya Kosi’s son, who lived with his wife, and offered him the opportunity for insight and realization. One day, as the young man observed others eating, he saw a man devour a loaf of bread filled with honey. A strong desire arose in him, and he thought, “If I eat a loaf, many will want to eat with me. Then all my ghee, honey, and sugar will be finished. I must not tell anyone.” And so, he continued to restrain his desire. Over time, he grew pale and weak from this constant self-denial, yet he still did not give in to his cravings. He did not speak to anyone, fearing the loss of his possessions. One day, his wife approached him and asked, “Master, what do you desire?” He replied, “I desire nothing.” She pressed further, “Has the king or anyone else done you wrong?” He replied, “No one has harmed me.” Finally, she asked, “Do you have any desire at all?” Hesitant at first, he admitted softly, “There is one desire—I wish to eat a loaf of bread.” She asked, “Then why have you not eaten one all these days? Are you poor? Can’t you bake bread properly?” He replied, “What use would it be to others? I would eat it myself.” She asked, “Then will you bake it only for the servants?” He replied, “I earn it for myself.” She asked, “Then why not bake enough for both of us?” Finally, he agreed. “If I bake here, many will want to eat. I will take some rice, flour, loaves, ghee, and sugar, go to the upper floor of the mansion, bake the bread there, and serve it.” So the sons of Machchariya Kosi began preparing the bread. They moved through the doors, stacked the loaves, and placed them in the oven. The wives lit the fire and started baking the bread. Thus, even the most miserly of men, guided by desire and compassion, learned the joy of sharing and preparing food not only for himself but for others as well.
Sinhala figure of speech: මගුල් ගෙදරත් ගිහින් කැවුම් නොකා ආවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like returning from the wedding-house without eating “kevum.”
Context: This saying lacks force today when the plum-cake has taken the place of the kevuma, which was almost a sine qua non at Sinhalese weddings of other days
Sinhala figure of speech: කපුරු දැවූ තැන අළු නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Where camphor is burnt, no ashes will be left.
Sinhala figure of speech: එක මිනිහෙක් සූකිරි වල රස කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a certain man’s description of the taste of sugar-candy.
Meaning: Talking or giving opinions about something you have no firsthand knowledge of
Context:  A certain man -who said that sugar-candy was sweet, being asked if he had ever tasted it, said "no, my brother told me so." On being further questioned as to whether his brother had tasted it, he said "No, my brother said Colombo people eat it"
Sinhala figure of speech: වඩුරාළගෙ ගෙදර වාඩිවෙන්න එකක් නැතුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Like there being nothing to sit upon in the carpenter’s house
Meaning: Ironically, the expert or provider lacks what they are supposed to have
Sinhala figure of speech: උපාසක බළලුත් මීයෝ අල්ලනවා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even “ upiisaka ” cats catch mice.
Meaning: you cannot necessarily trust someone simply because they appear to be kind and friendly
Context: Long ago, during the reign of King Brahmadatta in the city of Benares, the Bodhisattva was born as a mouse. He was extremely tiny, the size of a small infant, yet he became the leader of thousands of mice. At that time, a certain cat prowled around, looking for prey. Seeing the group of mice, it thought, “How can I catch these mice?” The cat approached carefully, facing east, holding its mouth open, stretching three of its paws on the ground, and staying in that position, ready to trap the mice. When the Bodhisattva saw the cat, he inquired, “Who are you?” The cat replied, “I am a righteous one.” The Bodhisattva asked, “Why are you on one paw?” The cat explained, “If I had all three on the ground, the earth would be unstable.” “Why is your mouth open?” the Bodhisattva asked. The cat replied, “To experience patience.”“Why are you facing east?” asked the Bodhisattva. The cat answered, “I serve the son of the Sun.” Thinking, “This mouse is truthful and possesses virtuous qualities,” the Bodhisattva decided to serve him twice a day. From that day onward, the cat would take a mouse every day, following its natural duty. As a result, the number of mice gradually decreased. One day, the mice approached the Bodhisattva and said, “Earlier, we lived freely. Now, we are being reduced drastically, and we do not know why. If you know the reason, please tell us what is good.”The Bodhisattva reflected and realized that the problem arose because of the cat. He decided to investigate, sending some mice ahead while he followed. Observing, he saw that the cat was performing penance. Thinking, “The cat is doing a penance; what kind of trick is this?” he leapt onto a rock and killed it by breaking its bones.The other mice saw this and immediately consumed the cat’s flesh. Afterward, all the mice lived peacefully, free from the cat’s oppression. The Bodhisattva, who had been born as the leader of the mice, completed the Cat Jataka in this way.
Sinhala figure of speech: බළලුන් ලවා කොස් ඇට බෑව්වා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like getting cats to take (roasted) “ jak ” seeds out of the fire.
Meaning: Using others to do dangerous work to fulfill one's own desires
Context: Bertrand the monkey persuades Raton the cat to pull chestnuts from the embers amongst which they are roasting, promising him a share. As the cat scoops them from the fire one by one, burning his paw in the process, the monkey gobbles them up. They are disturbed by a maid entering and the cat gets nothing for its pains.
Sinhala figure of speech: එළිපත්තේ ඉන්න බළලා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cat on the doorstep.
Meaning: Waiting without making a firm decision
Sinhala figure of speech: කටුස්සන් කාපු බැළලි වගෙයි  
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cat which has eaten chameleons.
Meaning: Sickly within and forbidding looking without
Sinhala figure of speech: ගලේ රීපු බළලා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cat which has evacuated on a rock.
Meaning: Unable to cover up one's dirt
Sinhala figure of speech: උරුලෑවා ගිය පාර වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like the path taken by the civet-cat.
Meaning: The work of evil men is unpleasant
Sinhala figure of speech: බැළලි වදන්ට ඉක්මන්වූ තරම කියතොත් ඇස් ඇති පැටව් වදන්ට මතක නැතිවුණාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The cat was in such a hurry to bring forth that she forgot to bring forth young ones with eyes.
Meaning: In rushing to complete something, one may overlook important aspects
Sinhala figure of speech: උරුලෑවා බළලා නොවෙනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The civet-cat can never become a cat.
Meaning: Inability to do certain tasks
Sinhala figure of speech: එරෝපෙට ගෙනිච්චත් බළලා ඥාව් ඥාව් කියාවි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though a cat be taken to Europe, it will still cry “ Mi-aou,” “Mi-aou.”
Meaning: Traveling to a new place or changing one’s surroundings does not necessarily change one’s inner nature, character, or mindset.
Sinhala figure of speech: හදුන් වනෙත් උරුලෑවෝ ඇතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You find civet-cats  even in a sandal-wood forest.
Meaning: A malodorous animal in a fragrant spot
Sinhala figure of speech: වැට නැති වත්තට හරක් එන එක අරුමයක්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Is it any wonder that cattle come into a garden that has no fence ?
Meaning: It’s no surprise that trouble comes where there is no protection.
Sinhala figure of speech: ටෝක්කා හරක් මේච්චල් කළා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the way in which Tokka tended cattle.
Meaning: A clever ruse to make it seem like a task has been done.
Context: In order to answer the Gamarala’s invariable questions at the close of day—“ Did you give grass to the ox to eat? Did you give him water to drink? ”—Tokka led the animal near the riverbank one day, showed it the water flowing merrily on, and then, sticking a long blade of grass in its fundament, took the animal home. And in reply to the Gamarala’s inevitable questions, he said, “See how the ox has fed. It has eaten so much grass that it is evacuating some of it, in the raw, in the excremental way. Look, you can See it for yourself.”
Sinhala figure of speech: තණ ඇති තැන හරකා කන්නේ නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Where there is grass, cattle do not graze.
Meaning: People (or animals) often fail to take advantage of what is right in front of them
Sinhala figure of speech: සීයාට පුටුව තියෙන්නේ මුනුපුරා නැගිටලාවද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Must not the grand-son rise up to place a chair for the grand¬ father ?
Meaning: You should show respect and courtesy to your elders
Sinhala figure of speech: කටුස්සාට රත්තරන් පැළදූවා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like adorning the chameleon with a gold ornament.
Meaning: Ignorant people become proud of receiving wealth and possessions
Context: A king who had observed that a chameleon was in the habit of getting down a tree and saluting him whenever he was seen, ordered a gold earring to be put on the chameleon’s ear. On the following day, however, the chameleon, instead of behaving towards the king as before, on seeing him went up the tree and took no notice of him
Sinhala figure of speech: කටුස්සා පිදුරු ගොඩට පැන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the chameleon jumping on a heap of straw
Meaning:  An effort or action that has no impact
Sinhala figure of speech: චණ්ඩාලගේ ලබු ගෙඩියේ ආකාශ ගංගාවේ වතුර කොයින්ද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: How can you find water of the “ celestial river ” in the “ labugediya ” of a Chandala ?
Meaning: You cannot expect something valuable or sacred from an unworthy source
Context: By “celestial river" is meant the Ganges, whose “sacred” waters are taboo to the Chandala as being “an outcast or pariah” one of the lowest of the mixed tribes descended from a Sudra mother and a Brahman father. For the use of the labu-gediya as a water vessel
Sinhala figure of speech: අඟුරු ගලගා සුද දකිතෑකැයි? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can charcoal ever be made white by friction with a stone ?
Meaning: You cannot change the intrinsic nature of someone or something
Sinhala figure of speech: කිරිදියෙනි දෙවියත්, අඟුරු සුදුවෙන කලෙක් නම් නැත් 
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Washed even in milk, charcoal can never become white
Meaning: No matter how much good you do or how much guidance you offer, you cannot change the inherent flaws of someone with a fundamentally corrupt nature.
Sinhala figure of speech: යක් දරුවෝ වාති, යක් මවු පියෝ නොවාති 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Depraved children are unlike depraved parents.
Meaning: Even the most depraved parents bear affection for their children, but the case is different with depraved children, who generally show no regard for their parents
Sinhala figure of speech: රුව ඇති දුවත් කට ඇති පුතත් වදන්ට කීවලු 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: Give birth to a daughter with beauty, and a son with a mouth
Meaning: A wish for children to be endowed with beauty and talent
Sinhala figure of speech: අප්පා නැති එකා අප්පා එක්ක ඉඳගෙන කන්ට ඇඬුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the fatherless child crying to sit and eat with his father.
Meaning: Crying or longing for what is impossible to obtain.
Sinhala figure of speech: නොතළා හඩන දරුවත් හැඳි නොගා උයන කැඳත් වැදගම්ම කට නෑ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The unthrashed child, like the unstirred congee, is useless.
Meaning: Without discipline or effort, potential remains unfulfilled.
Sinhala figure of speech: වඳියන්ට දරුදුක් නොදැනේලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The sorrows of children are a sealed book to barren women.
Sinhala figure of speech: කරුමෙන් උපන් දරුවාට වෙදා කරන්නේ මොකද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What can the Doctor do to a child born to misery ?
Meaning: If misfortune is embedded in one’s destiny, no external help can truly change it.
Sinhala figure of speech: රැවුල පත්තු වෙද්දී සුරුට්ටුව පත්තුකාරගන්ට අවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like trying to light your cigar from another man’s flaming beard.
Meaning: Callous to other people’s sufferings
Sinhala figure of speech: හපනාටත් හපනා සම්බ්වෙනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The cleverest man will find his match one day.
Meaning: There’s always someone who can match or surpass your cleverness
Sinhala figure of speech: කැත්තට පොල්ල වගෙයි 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like (my) club for (your) scythe
Meaning: About two equal powers
Sinhala figure of speech: නයාගේ පැටියා ගැරඩියා කරන්ට බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is impossible to make a young cobra a rat-snake.
Sinhala figure of speech: නයාට පොල්ල වැරද්දුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like missing the blow (lit. “ stick ”) at a cobra.
Meaning: Making an enemy that doesn't exist
Sinhala figure of speech: නයාට ගල ගැහුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like throwing a stone at a cobra.
Sinhala figure of speech: නයා පෙණේ කරනවා දැක ගැරඩියා කැබිලිත්තක් ඩැහැගෙන නැටුවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: On seeing the cobra spread out its hood, the rat-snake also danced with a potsherd in its mouth
Meaning: Mimicking the great
Sinhala figure of speech: නයා කීවත් කනවා, නයි හාමි කීවත් කනවා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The cobra will bite you, whether you call him “ Naya ” or “ Nayihamy ” (“ Snake ” or “ Lord Snake.”)
Meaning: This is said in ridicule of the national love of flattering terms of address
Sinhala figure of speech: දත් ඇති දා පොල් කන්ට කීවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Eat coconuts while you have your teeth.
Meaning: Make hay while the sun shines
Sinhala figure of speech: යන්නේ කොහාට දැයි ඇසුවාම මල්ලේ පොල්ය කීවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: “ I have coconuts in my bag,” answered the man who was asked whither he was going.
Sinhala figure of speech: යාලුවෝ දහට පොල් දහ බෙදුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like distributing the thousand coconuts among a thousand friends.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගඟට යටින් පොල් ගස් දෙන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving coconut trees from the river bottom.
Meaning: An unsubstantial gift
Sinhala figure of speech: පොල් හොරකම් කළා නොවෙයි, එල්ලන් බැස්සා කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like saying, “ I did not steal the coconuts, but simply brought them down the tree.”
Sinhala figure of speech: හොර බල්ලාට පොල් බෑයෙන් ගැහූ මිනිහා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the man who flung the coconut half at the thieving dog.
Sinhala figure of speech: රට ගෙනගියත් හිරමණය පොල් ගාන්ඩයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even if you take it overseas, the “ hiramanaya ” is for scraping coconut.
Meaning: Traveling to a new place or changing one’s surroundings does not necessarily change one’s inner nature, character, or mindset.
Sinhala figure of speech: වරක් විඳි දුක හිරමණේ දනී  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The coconut-scraper will know (its owner’s) former sorrows,
Meaning: The one who has gone through suffering (or has been close to it) knows it best
Sinhala figure of speech: දෙවේලේ දකින කුකුළාගේ කරමලා, එවේලේ පෙනෙයි සැකසෙම සුදුවෙලා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The comb of a cock seen twice a day seems as white as a
conch-shell
Meaning: The more you see something, it loses it's value.
Sinhala figure of speech: උණු හන්දා බොන්නත් බෑ, කැඳ හන්දා අහක දමන්ටත් බෑ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: One cannot drink as it is hot, and one cannot throw it away as it is congee.
Meaning: Being caught in a dilemma
Context: This is sometimes said of a relation who has disgraced the family, but who has still claims as a member of it the point being that, while association is no longer desired, the relationship cannot be denied
Sinhala figure of speech: කැඳත් ඕනැලු , රැවුලත් ඕනැලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The congee and the beard are both necessary.
Sinhala figure of speech: කතාව ගමනට ඉණිමගලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Conversation is a ladder to the traveller
Sinhala figure of speech: යකඩ දාච්ච ගෙයි ඉඹුල් පුලුන් කොයින්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can you find “ imbul ” cotton in a house where iron has been
consumed by fire ?
Meaning: Where there is utter destruction, there are no small things left behind.
Sinhala figure of speech: ළමයි කන රටේ කුකුල් පැටවුන් ඇතිකළ හැකිද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can you rear chicks in a country where children are eaten ?
Meaning: If the most precious or important things aren’t safe, then lesser things have no chance of survival.
Sinhala figure of speech: මාලිගා ඇති රටේ දිලිඳු පැලුත් තිබෙනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In a country of palaces, there are humble little hovels, too.
Meaning: Where great wealth and luxury exist, poverty and misery also exist side by side
Sinhala figure of speech: එක රටකදී ඈනුම් අරින්ට බැහැ, වෙන රටකදී කාරන්ට බැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: In one country you cannot yawn ; in another you cannot
clear your throat.
Sinhala figure of speech: දේසේ හැටියට බාසේ 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Your language must fit the country you are in
Meaning: Behavior must change in accordance with the environment, and work must be done in a way that is appropriate to the location.
Sinhala figure of speech: කකුළුවා දිය රත් වෙන කල් කරන සෙල්ලම වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like the crab’s gambols till the water gets hot.
Meaning: Temporary happiness before disaster strikes
Context:  It is the practice to boil crabs alive in a pot, for food. The proverb is applied to any short-lived enjoyment which is succeeded by much suffering, especially to the enjoyment of sensual pleasures
Sinhala figure of speech: කකුළුවා පැත්තෙන් පැත්තට යමින් පැටවුන්ට කෙළින් එන්ට කියනවාලු 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The parent crab, walking crookedly, tells its young ones to
go straight.
Meaning: Making mistakes and admonishing others
Sinhala figure of speech: කොකාටත් වාරයක් නම් තිත්තයාටත් වාරයක්ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If there is a time for the “ koka,” there will be one for the
“ tittaya,” too.
Meaning: There comes a time for everyone, big and small, to show their power.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොකා දිය සිඳෙන කල් බලා උන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If there is a time for the “ koka,” there will be one for the
“ tittaya,” too.
Meaning: To be hopeful without sufficient reason
Sinhala figure of speech: කණ කොකාගේ සුද පෙන්නේ ඉගිලුණමලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The white of a “ kana-koka ” appears only when it flies.
Meaning: The true nature of a person can be clearly seen by looking at the work that person does.
Sinhala figure of speech: කිඹුලාට මගුල් ජෝඩු කළා වගෙයි 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the arrangement of a “ match ” for the crocodile.
Meaning: Deceiving someone with unrealistic promises for selfish gain, or attempting something that is inherently absurd and impossible
Context: A cunning fox who had Seen the carcase of a bull / elephant on the bank of a river, crossed the river every day on the back of a crocodile on the pretence of going there to arrange a match for the crocodile, The fox kept on cheating the Crocodile for a length of time telling him that the bride's father was away one day, and the uncle on another etc. On the day he ate the last of the carcase, he ran away to the jungle saying in answer to the inquiries of the crocodile, "What marriages for crocodiles that live in rivers?"
Sinhala figure of speech: කිඹුලාගෙන් ගැලවුණත් හූනා ගෙදරලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though you escape the Crocodile, you will find the Lizard at
home.
Meaning: It means that even if one escapes a major peril, one may still be ruined by a lesser danger, often closer to home and unavoidable.
Context:  This is an allusion to a popular superstition that the mere contact of a house lizard renders incurable a man who has been wounded by the teeth of an crocodile - In Sinhalese folklore, the crocodile, the lizard and the leopards were three brother herdsmen, skilled in necromancy. According to Perera’s Sinhalese Folklore Notes, as the animals they were looking after refused to yield milk, the eldest transformed himself into a leopard, and the evil nature of the beast asserting itself, he began to destroy the flock and attack the brothers. The youngest took refuge on a tree, transforming himself into a lizard, and the other, who had the magical books, turned himself into a crocodile, and jumped into a river. These three have ever since lived in friendship, and a person who escapes a crocodile is killed if a lizard urinates on him when sleeping. A crocodile’s victim can free himself by tickling its stomach and trying to take away the books concealed there
Sinhala figure of speech: කිඹුලා කොහිල කටු ඇනෙණවා ඉවසන්ට බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You can endure the crocodile’s teeth, but not the thorns of
the “ Kohila.”
Sinhala figure of speech: වැටත් නියරත් ගොයම් කානම් කාට පවසමු ඒ අමාරුව ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: If both the fence and the dam eat up the crop, to whom shall
(the owner) complain ?
Meaning: Its protection has proved its destruction
Sinhala figure of speech: "හැමෝම මස් මම කනවාය, මගේ මස් කව්රුත් කන්නේ නැත." කියා කපුටා කීවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: “ I eat the flesh of every one, but no one eats my flesh,” said the crow.
Sinhala figure of speech: කළු කපුටා රන්තැඹිලි වල්ල පිට වැහුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a black crow alighting on a “ ran-tembili ” bunch.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙරි කුණට කපුටෝ වහන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like crows flocking round the carcase of a bull
Sinhala figure of speech: කපුටාට වණේ කැක්කුම මොටද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The pain of the wound (of an animal) is of no consequence
to the crow
Meaning: indifferent to the suffering of others and exploit it for their own benefit
Sinhala figure of speech: හිසේ පළඳින ඔටුන්න පයේ ලා ගැනීම ඔටුන්න වරදද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Is the crown, which ought to be worn on the head, to blame if it be put on the feet ?
Meaning: Something or someone of worth cannot be blamed for being undervalued, misused, or misplaced; the fault lies with the one who misapplies it.
Sinhala figure of speech: හිට ඇඬුවන්ට හිටි ඇඬිමත්, ඉඳ  ඇඬුවන්ට ඉඳ ඇඬිමත් නිසිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: For those who cried standing we should cry standing ; for
those who cried sitting we should cry sitting.
Sinhala figure of speech: පියවරු ගොයිතැන් කළොත් දරුවන්ට කරල් ඇහිඳීමට ඉඩ ඇතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If fathers cultivate, children will have a chance of gleaning.
Meaning: Parents’ efforts create opportunities and resources that their children can benefit from.
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්ධයෙකුට දී කිරිවල සුද කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the description of curd given to a blind man.
Context: A person being asked what curd was like by a man who was born blind, said it was white, on being asked what white was like, he said it was like a conch shell, when asked again by the blind man what a conch shell was like, he said it was like the kernel of a coconut. What is a cocoanut like he asked the blind man; "It is like a crane" was the reply. ''What is a crane-like?" was the next question. The man bent his hand into the shape of a crane and let the blind man to feel it. The blind man felt the hand and said "Oh after all curd is exactly like the hand
Sinhala figure of speech: බළල්ලුත් දී කිරට සාක්කියි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even cats will testify in favour of curd.
Sinhala figure of speech: පාපයත් නැතුව සාපයක් කොයින්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Where is the curse that is not the consequence of sin ?
Sinhala figure of speech: ගාතයක් නැති එකාට සාපයක් ඇතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: He is under a curse who is legless.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගඟට ඉණි කැපුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like cutting hedge-stakes on to a river.
Meaning: To do something that seems futile
Context: A villager once decided to build a fence around a paddy field. To secure the fence posts, he needed good bamboo poles. So one day, he set out early in the morning into a distant forest to cut a supply of bamboo poles. All day long, he tirelessly selected the best bamboo and cut them one by one, piling them up carefully. By the end of the day, he had gathered a large heap of bamboo. “How am I going to carry all these alone?” he wondered. Since he was cutting the bamboo by the riverbank, suddenly an idea struck him. “If I throw all this bamboo into the river, it will float along without me having to carry it all the way to the village. That way I won’t have to tire myself unnecessarily.” So he threw all the cut bamboo into the river. The bamboo floated with the current and disappeared from sight. When he returned to the village, he found that no bamboo was visible at all.
Sinhala figure of speech: එක්ක කකා බොටුව කපනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like cutting the throat while eating together.
Sinhala figure of speech: දඹුල්ලත් වැඳගෙන තලගොයිත් මරාගෙන එන්ට කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like asking you to worship at Dambulla Vihara and, when
returning, kill and bring some “ talagoyi.”
Meaning: Doing good deeds while also doing bad deeds
Sinhala figure of speech: හංගා හංගා කෝලම් බැන්දත් එළියේ ලු නටන්නේ.
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though you mask in secret, you must dance in public
Meaning: You can hide your intentions in private, but in public, the truth will show.
Sinhala figure of speech: නැට්ටුවා වැටුණත් අඩව්වලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the fall of a dancer is a somersault.
Meaning: A misstep may still look like talent to onlookers.
Sinhala figure of speech: පිදුරු වෙනිය ඇඳ කුකු නටන කඩින්ට වත් කාරියක් ලද නෙයියාඩම කැයි කීවාසේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Is a gift of cloth a trifling thing to the straw-covered dancer masquerading like a dog ?
Meaning: Giving a valuable gift to someone who cannot make use of it is like wasting it.
Sinhala figure of speech: නටන්න බැරුවා නොවේ, පොළවේ ඇද 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: “ It is not that I cannot dance, but the floor is not level,” said the dancer.
Meaning: When a man makes a pretended excuse, concealing the real cause of his failure
Context: “It is not that I cannot dance, but the floor is not level,” said the dancer - This was the excuse of the dancer who fell during his dance.
Sinhala figure of speech: සඳට වෛරව සොරුන්ට අඳුර පිහිටවූ මෙනි.
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like darkness, out of enmity to the moon, becoming helpful to the thieves.
Meaning: When driven by hatred or envy, one may end up supporting the wrong side, even if it harms the greater good
Sinhala figure of speech: බීරි අලියාට වීණා ගානවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like blowing a chank to a deaf man.
Meaning: Doesn't listen despite many warnings
Sinhala figure of speech: "ගොළුවාගේ සින්දුව බිහිරාට ඇසි අත් පොළසන් දුන්නාය" කියන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like saying : “ The deaf man, on hearing the song of the dumb man, clapped his hands for joy.”
Meaning: utterly unbelievable talk or a ridiculous claim that cannot possibly be true
Sinhala figure of speech: හතර බිහිරි කථාව වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the story of the four deaf persons.
Meaning: Inconsistency in the statements of relevant individuals about an event
Context: In a certain family, the father and the mother were both deaf, as well as their son and daughter-in-law. On one occasion when the wife went with the old man's breakfast into the field, the old man asked her where their son was. The old woman however replied. "It is no fault of mine. It is the daughter-in-law that delayed cooking." On coming home, she told her daughter-in-law, who then happened to be spinning, that the old man blamed her for being late. The daughter-in-law thinking that her mother-in-law found fault with her spinning said, "I spin as best as I can." When however, she told her husband, who was then warming himself near the hearth, that her spinning was found fault with, he swore that he had in it roasted a single potato
Sinhala figure of speech: ලම හාමිගේ දරුවා මගේ මරුවාදැයි කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like asking, “ Is Lama Hamy’s child the personification of death to me ? ”
Meaning: foolishness of treating trivial things as deadly threats
Sinhala figure of speech: දරු කුණත් කපුටු කුණත් අහක ලන්ට එපාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Neither a dead child nor a dead crow should be thrown away
Sinhala figure of speech: වලසාගේ මරණය බැටළු පැටවාගේ සරණය 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The bear’s death is the lamb’s salvation.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොරේ පිටට මරේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The pains of death on top of lameness.
Meaning: When you suffer one trouble, another trouble comes along.
Sinhala figure of speech: ලැවැන්නක් නැති මරණයක් නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: There is no kind of death without a cause.
Meaning: Every disaster has its root in some fault or circumstance.
Sinhala figure of speech: ලයන්නක් නැති මරක් නෑ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: There is no death without lamentation.
Meaning: There is no death without grief
Sinhala figure of speech: බොල්ලෑවා මළත් අඩව් නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: When a man with projecting teeth dies, you feel doubtful of his demise.
Sinhala figure of speech: මරුවා ආ දට බාදා නැතිලු 
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: When death comes, there is no let or hindrance.
Sinhala figure of speech: ණය ගත් අය ණය දුන් අයගේ වාලාලු  
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The debtor is the slave of the creditor.
Meaning: Debt robs a person of freedom
Context: There was a certain debtor who had evaded a creditor for a long time in order to escape the payment of his debts. Seeing the creditor come one day to the house, he pretended to be dead. The wife of the supposed dead man, in order to carry through the fiction, began to yell out for grief. The creditor, who was by no means deceived by all this, waited till in due time the body was placed on the funeral pyre, and then jumped on the supposed dead body, saying, “I, too, will die with my friend.” Thereupon the supposed dead man got up and promised to pay off the amount due with compound interest.
Sinhala figure of speech: කෙතේ මුවෝ කෑවාට ගෙදර තිබුණ ගෝණ හමට තඩිබෑවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා]
Literal translation: Like beating the elk-skin at home because deer ate up the corn in the field
Meaning: When someone who is difficult to catch commits a crime, punishing someone who is similar or related to them, who is easy to catch
Sinhala figure of speech: දිවියා දුටු මුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the deer which has seen a tiger.
Sinhala figure of speech: දුවන මුවන් දැක නොදමන් නෙලු  පළා 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Throw not the herbs you have plucked at the sight of running deer
Meaning:  Things we already have are more valuable than what we hope to get.
Context: A certain villager went to a forest to gather leaves. Having gathered enough leaves, he saw a herd of deer coming to drink water. Thinking that he should kill a deer and eat its meat, he threw away the leaves he had gathered and chased the deer with a stick in his hand. But the villager was unable to catch the deer that had entered the forest. Thinking that he should take at least some leaves with him and go home, the villager returned in search of the discarded leaves. By that time, a herd of deer that had already arrived there had eaten those leaves as well. The man, having lost both the deer and the leaves, went home empty-handed.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ කැලෙන් මේ කැලේට පැන්නම මුවාගේ තිත් මැකේද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Will the spots of a deer vanish by jumping from one jungle to another ?
Meaning: Changing surroundings does not change one’s nature or flaws
Sinhala figure of speech: පරදෙට අඬු තුනයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Defeat is three-legged.
Meaning: Defeat comes swiftly and surely.
Sinhala figure of speech: අනං මනං දොඩවා වනම් පනම් අහගන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Getting one’s defects exposed by talking nonsense
Meaning: exposing one's weaknesses by talking too much or doing unnecessary things
Sinhala figure of speech: ගණේ ගිල්ල යකාට පිළිමේ අග්ගලාවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: An image is like an “ aggalava ” to the Devil who has gulped down a Buddhist priest.
Meaning: One who has committed an act of great wickedness, will not scruple to commit one of less magnitude
Sinhala figure of speech: යකාට දොළ නොදී බැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: An offering is a “ sine qua non ” to the Devil
Meaning: a concession or bribe to conciliate a person otherwise liable to be troublesome
Sinhala figure of speech: යකුන් සේවය කළෝ ඇත්නම් පැරදුණෝ මිස දිනුවෝ නැත 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Defeat, never victory, is the portion of those who serve the Devil.
Meaning: Serving evil leads only to defeat, never to triumph
Sinhala figure of speech: නිකම් නටන යකාට අඟුරු දුම්මල ඇල්ලුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like offering burning resin and coal to a Devil who dances even otherwise
Meaning:  Unnecessary and superfluous ceremonial
Sinhala figure of speech: යන යකා කොරහන් බිඳගෙන ගියාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The departing Devil smashed even the “ Koraha ” as he
went.
Meaning: veritable vandal in his anger at his forced departure
Sinhala figure of speech: මේකනම් මහ මහසොන් මැරිල්ලකි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: This, sure, is a Maha Sohona killing
Meaning: situation, action, or event that is extraordinarily dangerous, lethal, or disastrous.
Context: Maha Sohona is the chief of the important spirits of disease. In Sinhalese Folklore, he is said to be 122 feet high, has the head of a bear with a pike in his left hand, and in his right an elephant, whose blood he squeezes out to drink. He inflicts cholera and dysentery and presides over graveyards and junctions where three roads meet; He is said to appear riding on a pig. In ancient times two giants, Jayasena and Gotimbara, met in single combat. Gotimbara knocked off the head of Jayasena, whereupon the god, Senasura, tore off the head of a bear and placed it on the body of Jayasena, who then rose up alive as the demon Maha Sohona. The Sinhalese believe that a man struck down by this demon would exhibit, on the back of his body, the mark of a hand with the palm and fingers standing out of the flesh, embossed as it were
Sinhala figure of speech: රුදා පිරුවටය වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like a cloth hired out by a dhoby
Meaning: The piruvata is a cloth or dress either lent by a dhobi to a person to wear while his own is being washed, or hired by the dhobi to a person needing it to wear for some function or ceremony. Whatever is lent or hired in this manner, is, not the dhobi’s but other people’s clothes
Sinhala figure of speech: රදවුන්ට රෙදි දීලා කොක්කු පාරේ යන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like going after cranes, after giving your clothes to the dhoby
Meaning: Pursuing a wrong direction or person
Sinhala figure of speech: රදවාට හාමිනේ බත් දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා
Literal translation: Like the way the Lady gave rice to the dhoby.
Meaning: Giving with one hand while finding an excuse with the other.
Context: When the dhobi had come during meal time, on more than one occasion the Lady of the house had said to him “Washerman, there is rice and there is curry, but I am sorry I am unable to give you to eat, since there is no plantain leaf available.” One day the dhobi put a plantain leaf in his bundle of clothes, and, when the Lady made the usual excuse, he produced it, saying: “Here is one, Lady; I brought it with me.” “Upon my word, Washerman,” she thereupon said, “all these days I told you the truth, but today I meant it in fun.
Sinhala figure of speech: ස්ත්‍රීන්ගේ වගතුග ගමේ අපුල්ලන රදවා දනී 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “ ins and outs ” of the women are best known to the village dhoby.
Meaning: someone who has close or routine access to a household knows all its hidden details or secrets
Sinhala figure of speech: සුළු සිදුරෙන් ලොකු හම්බන් කිඳා බහිනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Great dhoneys founder through one small leak
Sinhala figure of speech: දිඹුල් මල් ලබමැයි සිතා දිය ඇද්දා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like watering a “ dimbul ” tree in order to get flowers.
Meaning: To attempt a futile or pointless task
Sinhala figure of speech: දිය කාවගේ පිටේ ලුණු හැංගුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like hiding salt in the back of the “ diya-kava.”
Meaning: something done in vain, a plan or effort that is bound to fail, or a secret that cannot be kept.
Sinhala figure of speech: බුරන බල්ලෝ හපාකන්නේ නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Barking dogs do not bite.
Meaning: People who appear threatening rarely can-do harm
Sinhala figure of speech: හඳටත් බල්ලෝ බුරනවා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Dogs bark even at the moon.
Meaning: To make appeals in vain.
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලාට ලෙලි පොල් දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving an unhusked coconut to a dog
Meaning: A useless gift
Sinhala figure of speech: අඳුනන බල්ලෝ බුරන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the barking of familiar dogs
Sinhala figure of speech: කෑම හිඟයෙන් කෙට්ටු වේවි සිටි බල්ලා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the dog that was getting lean through lack of food
Sinhala figure of speech: කොට බල්ලාගේ හාදකම වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the friendship of the short (-tailed) dog.
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලන් බිරුවට අලි භය නොවෙත් 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The barking of dogs will not frighten elephants.
Sinhala figure of speech: පිදුරු ගොඩේ ඉන්න බල්ලා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the dog in the heap of straw
Meaning:   person who spitefully refuses to let someone else benefit from something for which he or she has no personal use
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලන් බිරුවට කන්ද කඩා වැටෙන්නේ නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The barking of dogs will not make the mountain collapse
Meaning: No matter how hard one tries, something cannot be changed or stopped.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙයි මස් ගඳ තිබෙනතෙක් දොරකඩ බලු හඬ තොර නොවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The barking of dogs will not cease at the gate so long as the smell of meat remains within the house.
Meaning: as long as there is something worth taking, attracting, or provoking, complaints, attention, or trouble will continue.
Sinhala figure of speech: බලු වල්ගේ උණ බම්බුවේ දැම්මත් ඇද ඇරෙන්නේ නෑ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The crook in the dog’s tail can never be straightened, even though you put the tail within a bamboo.
Meaning: What is bred in the bone comes out in the flesh
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලාට ඇති වැඩකුත් නැහැ හෙමින් ගමනකුත් නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The dog always runs even though he has no work to do
Meaning: A person who runs here and there in vain is a joke.
Sinhala figure of speech: රජවුණත් බල්ලා සෙරෙප්පු විකනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The dog, even if he becomes a King, bites sandals.
Meaning: No matter how much a person’s status, title, or position changes, their inherent nature or habits remain the same.
Sinhala figure of speech: කම්මලේ ඇතිවෙච්ච බල්ලා හෙනේටත් භය නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The dog reared in a blacksmith’s forge is not afraid even of thunder.
Meaning: A person accustomed to the most fearsome things will not fear anything less or even the same.
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලාට කීවාම බලු වල්ගේට කියන්ට කීවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The dog wanted the order given to him to be given to his tail.
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලන් බිරුවට චන්ද්‍රයා නොසලකයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The moon is not ruffled by the barking of dogs.
Meaning: Loud complaints or opposition from weak sources are harmless to the strong or unshakable.
Context: /
Sinhala figure of speech: වල්ගේ නැති බල්ලාගේ ආදරේ පෙන්වන්ට බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The tail-less dog cannot show his affection
Meaning: Unable to wag its tail to show its affection
Sinhala figure of speech: පිනැත්තන්ට බුරන බල්ලාගේ කටේ දත් වැටෙනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The teeth will fall of the dog who barks at fortunate people.
Meaning: malice against the successful brings consequences upon the wrongdoer, not the fortunate person.
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලා කකුල කෑවාට උගේ කකුල හපාකන්නේ නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Though a dog bites your leg, do you bite its leg in return ?
Sinhala figure of speech: බල්ලා ඉන්න විට පොල්ල නැහැ,පොල්ල තිබෙන විට බල්ලා නැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: When there is a dog, you have no club ; when you have the club, there is no dog.
Sinhala figure of speech: අසුචි කප්පරක් කෑ බල්ලාට සුළු ගඳ මොකක්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Will the dog that has eaten a shipload of dung be troubled by a little bad smell ?
Sinhala figure of speech: කණට අහුවුණ බලු මැක්කා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the dog-flea which the blind man has got hold of.
Meaning:  Caught steadily and firmly without any chance of escape
Sinhala figure of speech: දුටු දුටු අස්සට ගස උළුවස්සා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Make a door-frame for every corner you see.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉතා වෑවෙන්නේ කනවැන්දුම් වෙන්ටලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Doting on a spouse betokens that widowhood is near.
Meaning: overly doting or excessive attachment to a spouse may foreshadow their early death
Sinhala figure of speech: මහෝදර ලෙඩා කොතරම් දිය බීවත් ඇතැයි යන තෘප්තියට නොපැමිණෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: No amount of water can quench the thirst of a dropsical man.
Meaning: Endless craving can never be satisfied
Sinhala figure of speech: බැඳ ගත්ත බෙරේ ගහන්න ඕනෑ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: You must beat the drum which you have tied on.
Meaning: Whatever you undertake, you must fulfill it, no matter how unpleasant it may be.
Sinhala figure of speech: මුරුංගා ගහ කැපූ කතාව වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cutting down of the drum-stick tree.
Meaning: To create dreams, hopes, or plans that are impossible, unrealistic, or have very little chance of succeeding
Context: A person who had a drumstick tree in his garden when he saw the first blossoms on it, fell to thinking about the way the drum-sticks they would produce, should be tied into bundles from that he passed on to a speculation about the profits that would accrue to him by selling them, and the trade he could carry on with this money, and the extensive trade which in course of time he would be able to carry on with foreign countries with ships of his own and the storehouses that should be built for foreign goods, and as the drumstick tree Seemed to obstruct the way to the storehouses he cut it down
Sinhala figure of speech: ගොළුවා දුටු ස්වාපංය වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the dumb man’s dream
Meaning: Indescribable
Sinhala figure of speech: දූවිලි අවිස්සුවොත් හිසට දූවිලි නගියි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If you raise the dust, it will rise up to your own head.
Sinhala figure of speech: අතිසාරේට අමුඩේ ගහනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like wearing a crupper to cure dysentery.
Meaning: Applying a small and meaningless solution to a very large problem without fully addressing it
Sinhala figure of speech: අලුත් ඉළපතෙන් හොඳට පිහ දැමෙන වාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: A new eacle-broom sweeps well
Meaning: A newcomer often works with extra energy and efficiency at the beginning
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස්සර වෙලා ආ කනට වඩා පස්සේ ආ අඟ දික්වුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the recently sprung horn grown longer than the older ear.
Meaning: The new acquaintance preferred to the older friend
Sinhala figure of speech: ලෝකේ කාලා වතුර බීලා වගෙයි 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like (a man who had) eaten the whole earth and drunk all the water.
Meaning: Like the man who had escaped all seven gallows
Sinhala figure of speech: කාපු එකයි රස දන්නේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is only the eater who knows the taste.
Sinhala figure of speech: එක්ක කතත් බොක්ක වෙනලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though eating together, the stomachs are different.
Meaning: Differences in benefits even when living together
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ ගහේ කොස් කන්න ඒ ගහේ පොල් ඕනේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: To eat the jak of that tree, you want the coconut of that tree.
Sinhala figure of speech: හිත තිබුණට මොකද පත කුඩානම් ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What avails the inclination to eat, if the quantity (of rice in the plate) is small ?
Sinhala figure of speech: කතොත් මොණර මාලු, නොකතොත් කපුටු මාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: What you relish to eat is like peacock flesh, otherwise it is crow flesh.
Meaning: When there is a need, even things that were initially negative appear positive.